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GENETIC RISK FACTORS IN MULTIPLE MYELOMA
by
Kristin Alyse Rand
_________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(EPIDEMIOLOGY)
December 2012
Copyright 2012 Kristin Alyse Rand

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of the plasma cells, accounting for 1% of all cancer deaths and 20% of all hematological cancer deaths. In 2011 alone, 20,500 people will be diagnosed with myeloma and 10,600 people are expected to die from this disease. To date, multiple myeloma remains incurable with a 5-year survival rate of ~40%. There are few known genetic or environmental epidemiologic risk factors for this disease. To assess genetic risk factors associated with multiple myeloma, my dissertation focuses on both a candidate pathway approach, targeting areas that have previously been implicated in the disease etiology and pathogenesis (such as DNA repair pathways) as well as an agnostic approach, scanning the whole genome by employing a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify novel pathways in disease etiology. ❧ Although there are known environmental risk factors involved in the etiology of MM, there is mounting evidence that heritable traits may also play a substantial role in disease risk. This dissertation examines genetic risk factors to provide insight into the etiology of multiple myeloma.

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GENETIC RISK FACTORS IN MULTIPLE MYELOMA
by
Kristin Alyse Rand
_________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(EPIDEMIOLOGY)
December 2012
Copyright 2012 Kristin Alyse Rand